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How I Let Go of My Hang-Ups to Unleash the Magic of Reading
Lifting the curse to embrace the “well-thumbed way”
I like my books contained
I like my new books to be pristine. You open them, and there’s that new book smell. The pages crisp, the cover perfectly flat. The story unblemished by another’s fingerprints or gaze. I like my books contained — so I can be the one to unleash their magic.
There’s something so satisfying about a new book, one that’s never been touched.
Even with books I’m reading, I like to keep them as perfect as possible. When I go to the park to read, I often wrap my books in a paper bag before I put them in my backpack, to stop the pages from getting damaged while I carry them about.
I have a spiritual practice that I will only buy a book if I can hold it in my hands. No ordering books online. If I want a book, I have to find it in a bookstore.
Recently, I traveled to a large city for work, not something I do often. So, at the end of my workday, I zipped up my jacket against the heavy rain, then walked to the city’s largest bookstore.
I had a particular title in mind, but it wasn’t there. So I let myself browse.
